Authors: Shelly Crane
"What?" she asked.
While I held Marissa's arm and started to cart her to one of the couches I asked, "Can you get her a glass of water, please?"
"
I guess. Though it's rude to ask guests for help on the first day," she said and smiled the smile of a girl who'd been through too much crap. We all had, so I didn’t fire back. I just helped Marissa sit down and she slumped into the sofa back.
The redhead supplied the glass and looked down at Marissa as she sipped it. "Thank you," I told her. "I'm sorry
if
I was rude earlier. I'm Sherry. Your dad married my husband and me."
"I heard all about it after we ran into your hubs," she replied and rolled her eyes, her hands going to her hips. "Daddy was going on and on about how it was true love." She scoffed. "No such thing, no offense."
"I'm sorry," I said and straightened, "but how am I not supposed to take offense to that?"
"I'm just saying."
"Well don't
,
please. That man and his," I motioned in the air with finger parenthesis, "
true love
for me is all I've got
left
."
"And the little girl too, right? I saw her before." She smiled
,
but it was distant. "She's a beauty."
"Yes, she is," I said softly. Then I stuck out my hand
and tried again
. "Sherry."
"Rylee," she answered and shook. "So, you guys have built a little army down here
,
huh? Who's running this shindig?"
"That'd be me, ginger
."
We both turned to find Miguel, a
nd he was scowling at Rylee.
"From go to whoa."
"Black belt," she drawled and laughed. "This is your operation?"
"Not just mine, but I put some elbow grease on
weapons and training."
"Really?" She frowned in an over exaggerated way. "I'm surpr
ised you've made it this long. N
o offense."
"Hey," I said in Miguel's defense. "Tacking on 'no offense' after everything doesn't make it ok to say it. Miguel has saved my life more times than I can count."
"
I can help," she said as if I hadn't spoke
n
at all. "I'd love to
help you
teach these suckers how to not be dead."
"Maybe I'll let you help, but you need to show these people a little res
pect. They've been through a donkey's years of trouble
."
"Haven't. We. All." She shuffled and took a little pocketknife out. She played with it and started twirling it in her fingers. "Not all of us have been so lucky to be stuck in some basement and be coddled by each other."
"Not all of us started off that way," Miguel growled back. I put my hand on his arm, no doubt he was thinking about his wife. "We've all lost."
"Some of us were too innocent to even understand that they were dying, much less know the why of it."
"
I beg yours? Y
ou're innocent?" Miguel scoffed and then turned hard a
n
d yelled. "I lost my wife, right in front of my eyes!"
She lifted her shirt, a long scar along the front. "This is what they took from me."
At first I didn't understand what she meant. Then it clicked into place. Marissa, who was on the couch, suddenly stood and gasped as she covered her mouth.
"Your baby," Miguel murmured and stepped towards her a little, looking more sorrowful than ever. "They killed your baby?"
"I was five months along. They didn’t care that I was pregnant. I had just come home to be with my dad and
they caught us at the church, asking us about rebels.
They gutted me and left me for dead, right there in the sanctuary.
"
"Oh
, no,
no,
" Marissa muttered and made a noise like she'd be sick.
I put an around her.
"I'm so sorry," Miguel said sincerely. "I'm sorry for what I said and I'm sorry for what happened to you.
" He took a deep breath and began.
"They killed her right in front of me, my wife. I couldn't do a thing to stop them as they held me down. With all my training, with all my skil
ls, it wound up being a hill of beans.
"
She looked at him and though her face was hard, her eyes were seeking. She looked at us all and crossed her arms over her chest.
He smiled sadly. "
Pardon
me," he said and swiftly walked back passed the stairs.
"Don’t pity me!" she yelled, chocked full of emotion as he walked off.
He turned back to look at her. Everyone did, well, because she yelled. He replied, "Compassion isn't pity. I am sorry, but that doesn't mean that I'm going to take it easy on you." He smiled and I knew what he was doing. She was hard and rough and gruff. She needed to keep a certain level of that so he was giving it back to her. "You caught me off guard the first time
around, which was cod wallop
. I won't ma
ke that mistake again.
You can count on that, bluey.
"
"You're on, Pippy."
"Pippy?"
he barked back and lifted a black brow.
"Well, you're from England aren't you?"
"
Northern A
ustralia
," he answered blandly.
"Oh," she said and frowned. "You need to work on that accent, mate."
He groaned and went to go back to the hall. But right before he turned, he looked back. Their eyes met and he smiled a crooked
'game on'
smile before
leaving. I looked back at her and she was looking at her feet. And bless her, there was a hesitant smile on her face too.
I shifted my gaze to Marissa
,
but she was staring at Rylee's clothed belly with wide eyes.
"Marissa, are you gonna be
sick
again
?"
"Uhuh," she said and ran to the kitchen trash
can. I followed and patted her back as she was sick over and over. I'd he
ard a
little bit of what she'd done for Margo. I know that when she uses her power that she dispels her own energy. She must have
used a lot to still be so sick, and with the pregnancy too.
Then
I
went to the sink and got Marissa a wet cloth. She pressed it to her face and groaned in relief. She thanked me and I smiled, but
didn't really mean it.
I kept the brave face in place and looked around for something to do so I wouldn't go nuts waiting for Merrick to return.
Playing hero
Chapter 34
- Cain
"What if he doesn't wait until they get to the house? What if he just does it in the car?" I groaned.
"Does what exactly?" Jeff
asked.
"Does it matter!" I yelled back as
I shifted
gears angrily. "
Whatever he's going to do with her isn't something I want. I'm going to murder him."
"Calm down, Cain," Merrick said from the back of the Jeep. "You need a clear head, man. She'll be alright. She's smart. And…
Daniel's with her."
"Don’t you frigging say his name to me, Merrick," I barked and glared at him in the rearview mirror. "I’m gonna murder him too."
He lifte
d his hands in surrender as
he
and Jeff started talking. They drummed on about Marissa being sick this whole time and
babies
about the mishaps we'd had on our run. I heard Merrick say something about stairs and falling and laundry chutes
,
but I wasn't listening.
Lillian was so gonna get it. She was in so much trouble. She had to know how pissed I'd be. She had to know-
The explosion ahead of us jerked all our heads that direction.
"Oh no," I heard Merrick s
ay. I punched the gas. I hope
d with everything in me as we made our way to
the
wreckage
that we'd find something still alive to save
. The closer we got the more you
could see
what
was goi
ng on. It wasn't an explosion, i
t was lightning. Lots of it.
Merrick and Jeff gasped and sat forward. "The Taker," Merrick said. "He's dead. Go
,
Cain, go!"
he yelled as
he bumped my seat with his fist
.
I realized I'd slow
ed
down a little in my awe. I punched the gas again
and within a minute we
arrived on the scene. We all stumbled out of the Jeep and I gaped in horror at the destroyed car. The lightning had torn it to shreds. Somehow the backdoor creaked open, then fell off its hinges as it hit the pavement. Daniel fell out of it too, grabbing at his arm. It was practically torn off…or burned off.
The driver stumbled out and Merrick jumped on him in his stunned stupor. He never stood a chance. As the lightning rang out,
I ran
. But Daniel
blurred to the other side, beating me
to her
. He ripped the door open and lifted Lillian's body from the back seat. I almost fell to my knees. She was so bloody and burned everyw
here. Her pants and shirt were
charred and almost non-existent. I went straight to him.
"Give her to me you bastard." I meant to growl, but it just came out desperate. "I think you've done enough."
"She's alive," he said and handed her to me gently but quickly and I was surprised there would be no fight from him.
"You won't be for long," I told him, expecting him to run or say something about my not caring enough about her.
But then
he said, "We must get her home
to your little Lily."
I looked down at Lillian and heard them talking around me.
"Lily?" Merrick asked and came forward. "What for?"
"She's a healer. She saved my life. Your Sherry didn’t tell you?"
"No, my Sherry didn’t tell me and don’t pretend to know more about my girls than I do."
"We must get her to Lily,
now," he begged. Lillian's cheek
was black and dirty. Her arm on my chest was so messed up; burned beyond repair. I almost broke down right there
,
but I thanked God that she was unconscious. At least she wasn't feeling this.
Without a word I went and climbed into the Jeep with her in my lap.
She was beyond help, I knew that and I was almost ashamed because I
was so calm instead of
rip-roaring the place down. I just held her. She brought me out of my funk, she made me feel real love - the kind that you use the a
ctual words for - and now, she
killed herself for me.
It was sad, but I couldn't even remember being this devastated when my parents died. This wasn't the first time that she'd saved me either. But she was alive, like Daniel - that bastard - had said. But I didn’t see how and it couldn't be for much longer.
We were moving. I glanced up to see everyone else
was in the Jeep too. Merrick dro
ve as Jeff sat in the back with me. He had Lillian's feet in his lap and he patted them when he saw me looking, as if to say, 'We all care and we're here for you.' I nodded my gratitude to him and then looked back to her face.
I smoothed her hair, taking the familiar trail be
hind her ear
. Her eyes opened and at first, I thought I was hallucinating. Then she smiled at me.
"Either I’m
in Heaven or the plan worked,
"
she croaked.
"Do I look like a frigging angel?" I joked in a hoarse reply.
"Abso-frigging-lutely."
I laughed and then st
opped because the shaking might
hurt her.
"What did you do?" I asked in a groan and shook my head.
"We borrowed a bomb
a few matches
."
A bomb….ah. Those stupid water balloon acid things that Miguel had come up with. I stared at her, looking deep.
I said everything I couldn’t
say out loud with
my stare. That I was so angry at her, that she was a stubborn woman who needed a good spanking and not of the kinky variety,
that the fact that she used Daniel and not me in her plan - even though it would never have worked that way - cut deep,
that her plan did work and she saved a lot of peo
ple, that I loved her so much I didn’t know how to act
and if she died, the big guy might as well take me too because I'd be useless here without her.
She nodded and started to cry. "I know," she said. "I'm so sorry. But I had to save you."
"Baby, " I told her as sternly as I could, "you are not cursed. Stop trying to make up for something that you didn't do or cause."
"I know."
"Do you? Bec
ause it sure looked like you were playing hero again to me. But you're gonna make it. You're gonna be fine," I told myself more than her.
She just smiled, barely, and hooked her hand around my neck. She brought my head down to rest against her forehead and then…she sta
rted to rub my head and scalp.
She was comforting me, though she was burned and in pain and I wasn't even sure if she'd make it, she was trying to soothe me.
I choked up, and I mean big time. I let her do it, because I knew she needed to. For some reason the girl needed it. So I let her and felt wet drops on my arm. I looked down. Those were mine.
When her hand started to quiver and strain with the motions, I knew I was about to lose her. She could barely hold her hand up and when I lifted my head again, her eyes were fighting her lids.
I grabbed her hand gently and kissed her knuckles, leaving them pressed against my mouth and cried. I couldn't rem
ember the last time I'd cried, r
eally I couldn't. But with Lillian drifting away in my arms, I cried for all the things I should have cried for before. My parents, my youth, my fiancé's betrayal,
all the heartache we'd had since the Lighters took over. And I cried the hardest for the love I was losing right there in that Jeep. I rocked her and felt the last squeeze of
her fingers before she was limp;
completely, utterly still. I rocked her harder a
nd as I let myself go and sobbed silently
into her hair, I hummed to her that song that she loved so much. The
song that I'd played and after
wards she'd told me it was her f
avorite. Collective Soul's 'Run'
.
I held on and didn't let go. My brain was under the notion
that as long as I held her
she was still with me. I had almost forgotten that I wasn't alone until I heard a quiet, almost secret, sorry in my
mind. I peeked up and saw Jeff
.
I couldn't think
though. I turned my gaze back to L and ran my fin
g
e
r
s across her eyebrows, something I'd never done befo
re
and wished I had.
If I had the chance, I'd explore every part of her, just so I could say that I knew her complet
ely. I'd ask her every question
I ever wondered about.
Someone tried to take her. I looked up and saw that we were parked at the back of the store. I held her tight and growled to warn them off. She was mine.
"Ok, ok," Merrick said. "Let me help you out."
I let him and then I carried her inside the bunker and down the stairs. Everyone watched and parted a way, covering their mouths and whimpering, but I ignored them and took her right to the couch. I thought about taking her to our room, but I wanted them all to see her sacrifice. She did this for them.
When I placed her down, I kept my hand on her and refused to let go. I felt a hand on my shoulder and
then arms around me from behind
. I knew it was Sherry without even turning.
Before we'd left, Sherry had said in my ear, "She's been waiting for you. Waiting for someone who was worthy of sacrificing for. She loves you, and I can imagine what's going on in her head right now. That life would be worthless without you."
"Funny, I feel the same way about her," I'd said.
"Exac
t
l
y," she'd answered back.
Then she'd gone inside and I'd gone to get my girl. Now I had her
,
and her hand that was usually warm and smooth, was getting colder by the minute.
"Get Miguel," someone behind me said. It should have pissed me off that everyone was standing around and I was crying like a baby, but it just didn't matter.
"It's too late," Jeff murmured and when I looked up at him, he blanched. "I'm sorry, man." He turned back to whoever it was. "Go on and get him.
"No, yo
u're right," I said, my voice a
cruel, gruff copy of my former self. "It's too late."
"Too late for what?" Lily said as she was suddenly beside me.
"Lily, come here," Merrick said and held his hand out but she didn't go.
"But
Aunt L
doesn't want to go yet," she answered and we all gawked at her. What in the…
"Lily," Sherry said softly, coming to my side. "Can you do what you did earlier, with Daniel? Can you do that to Lillian?"
Mine and Merrick's eyes snapped to Daniel. He was still burned badly and though I hated his guts with a passion that belied my calmness, he nodded once to convey that it was the truth.
Lily didn't answer Sherry, she just went up to Lillian and put a small hand on her cheek. "She's still in there," she whispered and smiled at me. "Uncle Cain, she's dweaming about you." I almost lost it again with the frigging tears, but held fast.
"What are you doing, Lily bug?" I asked softly and then gas
ped, as did we all, as Lillian bucked, then her
skin started to change. Her charred complexion smoothed over and her color came back to the peach that I knew.
Her clothes were still tattered
,
but underneath the shreds and burned cloth her skin
was
healed and beautiful again. I watched her face, knowing what was going to happen
,
but unable to believe until I saw it for myself. When her eyes opened, it was with a flutter.
She didn't waste a second of precious time as she glanced over to me. She bolted up and grabbed onto me around my neck and I was too stunned to do anything but squat there. When I felt her first breath of relief against my neck, I let my arms touch her. She was real, alive, warm. She was her
e
. I squeezed her to me and cried some more like the big baby
that
I was apparently becoming.
She leaned back and touched my cheek. She looked at the wetness like it was alien, and I guess for me it probably was.
"I'm sorry," she said in a groan. "I'm so sorry."
"
It's over," I s
a
i
d and kissed her
forehead. I
f I kissed her li
p
s
now, I wouldn't be able to stop
,
so that would have to wait until later.
I ran my fingers over
her eyebrows and smiled. One
down, a million more places
to go.
"I was dreaming…that
we were on a boat
and you were singing
. I could've sworn..
.
There was an older lady there.
She was talking to…" She glanced over at Lily.
W
e all sat back and looked at Lily. Everyone had mixed expressions and I saw it then, the reason no one had said anything about Lily's gift was because people would be scared of her.
Lily
asked Daniel if he wanted t
o
be healed again.
"No, young Lily. I deserve these wounds," Daniel said looking at Lillian, only at Lillian.
"I asked you to," she said quietly and gulped.
"But your Cain was right. You can't just give people everything they want. That's not what love is." I tightened my fist at
h
is use of that word
,
but he turned to go.
"I'd like very much to lie down."
He went to the hall, people parted the way for him to go, and he went to his room I assumed. Good, I thought. His beat-down that was coming as sure as I knew the sun would come out tomorrow needed to be later anyway. More important things right now.
I hugged Lily to me. I didn't say anything, because I didn't think I could. Lillian hugged her too and then everyone just stood there.
Lily
looked around and whe
n no one
else
said anything else she said cheerfully,
"You're welcome!" And then she skipped away to Merrick, who was in the back.
I
looked back to Lillian and asked the first thing that came to my head. "Do you need anything?"
"I'm starving," she said quietly, tucking her hair behind her ear. "I know that's so stupid after everything that just happened, but I really am hungry."
"It's not stupid."
"I'll get you something," Sherry said and smiled as she squeezed my shoulder.
I'd forgotten she was still at my back. She
got up and took Lily with her to the
kitchen with Merrick following
.
I realized I was still holding Lillian in my death grip and loosened up a bit. She stopped me.
"Don't ever let me go again," she said and nestled into my chest.
"You can bet on that, gorgeous."